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Transfer of assets from a fund-based pension insurance

December 15, 2019 | 25,00 EUR | answered by Steuerberater Knut Christiansen

Hello,
In 2016, after the termination of my unit-linked pension insurance, the accumulated fund shares were transferred to my private securities account. The pension insurance was taken out before 1.1.2005, with a minimum term of 12 years, a minimum contribution payment period of 5 years, and a minimum death benefit of 60%. The transfer was therefore tax-free.

In 2018, the shares were sold. The bank holding the securities account as well as the tax office now argue that the transfer of securities in 2016 constituted a taxable transfer as a new acquisition, meaning that they are not old shares acquired before 2009, the sale of which would be tax-free. The corresponding tax deduction would therefore be legitimate.

My question is: is it really a transfer of rights with a new acquisition in 2016? Is it correct to distinguish between a securities account transfer from a previous insurance policy and a securities account transfer from another financial institution? After all, they were already my shares before the transfer and remained so after the securities account transfer. It is not a transfer to another individual.

Thank you for your response and best regards.

Steuerberater Knut Christiansen

Good day and thank you for using frag-einen.com! I would like to answer your question within the scope of the following initial assessment.

In principle, the transfer by the pension insurance/fund company at maturity in 2016 is a paid transaction (payout of credit). Therefore, the transfer is considered a new purchase of otherwise the same shares. In this context, the tax office and the custodian bank are correct. The later sale of the shares is no longer tax-free, but is subject to capital gains tax. However, the values from 2016 would have to be used as the acquisition costs.

I hope this answers your question, otherwise feel free to ask for further clarification at no cost.

Please note that this forum cannot replace personal advice, but only provides an initial tax assessment. Missing or incomplete information can change the legal outcome.

Best regards,

Knut Christiansen
Tax consultant